BAKERSFIELD, Calif. \u2014 A mysterious malady that has been killing honeybees en masse for several years appears to have expanded drastically in the last year, commercial beekeepers say, wiping out 40 percent or even 50 percent of the hives needed to pollinate many of the nation\u2019s fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
A conclusive explanation so far has escaped scientists studying the ailment, colony collapse disorder, since it first surfaced around 2005. But beekeepers and some researchers say there is growing evidence that a powerful new class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, incorporated into the plants themselves, could be an important factor.<\/p>\n
The pesticide industry disputes that. But its representatives also say they are open to further studies to clarify what, if anything, is happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey looked so healthy last spring,\u201d said Bill Dahle, 50, who owns Big Sky Honey in Fairview, Mont. \u201cWe were so proud of them. Then, about the first of September, they started to fall on their face, to die like crazy. We\u2019ve been doing this 30 years, and we\u2019ve never experienced this kind of loss before.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a show of concern, the Environmental Protection Agency recently sent its acting assistant administrator for chemical safety and two top chemical experts here, to the San Joaquin Valley of California, for discussions.<\/p>\n
In the valley, where 1.6 million hives of bees just finished pollinating an endless expanse of almond groves, commercial beekeepers who only recently were losing a third of their bees to the disorder say the past year has brought far greater losses.<\/p>\n
The federal Agriculture Department is to issue its own assessment in May. But in an interview, the research leader at its Beltsville, Md., bee research laboratory, Jeff Pettis, said he was confident that the death rate would be \u201cmuch higher than it\u2019s ever been.\u201d <\/p>\n